System for responding to fulfillment orders

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and software ( 1600 ) are for moving inventory items ( 1610 ) to an unloading station ( 1640 ) in response to a fulfillment order. An input device ( 1620 ) is used to enter identification information about the inventory items. At a loading station ( 1615 ), the inventory items are received and loaded into holders ( 1605 ). The holders are then moved to storage area ( 1630 ). A controller ( 1625 ) is configured for creating and storing a first association between the entered identification information and each of the holders in which each of the inventory items is placed. A selector and transporter ( 1635 ) are responsive to the fulfillment order and the first association, and are configured to select a holder which holds the inventory items corresponding to the fulfillment order, and configured to transport the holder from the storage area to the unloading station ( 1640 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/669,340 filed 7 Apr. 2005.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to sorting of mail, and moreparticularly to improved mail sorting efficiencies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many posts around the world are seeking to develop a more effective mailmerging system that automatically merges all mail streams and sorts themto as fine a degree as time permits, preferably to delivery sequence.The system should accomplish this merging at the step of carriersequence sorting by merging all elements of the mail stream (letters,flats, periodicals, post cards etc.) at some point during the sortingprocess.

At present, some of the mail streams arrive at the postal branch officessorted in delivery sequence and some do not. Generally, even when themail arrives at the branch already sorted to delivery sequence, postalcarriers need to merge multiple streams of mail (often as many as tenstreams) from different mail trays—and for this, the postal carriersgenerally use a manual sorting process. When mail does not arrive at thebranch already sorted, the carriers spend even more time—severalhours—sorting the mail into carrier delivery sequence manually. Often,the carrier on mechanized routes will complete the mail merging whilesitting at each post box—merging mail from multiple mail trays on thespot before placing it in the mailbox. This requires carriers to spendsubstantial time merging and sorting the mail before they can start todeliver it, or else they must complete the merging while they aredelivering the mail, thus making the mail delivery process (the lastmile) quite inefficient.

In 1990, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a Request forProposal for a carrier sequence bar code sorter, type B, a single passsorter to arrange mail in carrier delivery sequence. To date, 16 yearslater, no product has yet been manufactured and delivered to satisfythat need.

The 2003 Presidential Commission Report on the Future of the UnitedStates Postal Service (USPS) concluded that the Postal Service shouldcontinue to develop an effective merging system that is responsive tocustomer needs and culminates in one bundle of mixed letters and flatsfor each delivery point. The system should accomplish this merging atthe step of carrier sequence sorting by merging all elements of the mailstream (letters, flats, periodicals, post cards etc) at the finalsorting process.

The USPS sometimes does delivery sequence sorting at central sortingfacilities. The sorting is done there because the equipment required toautomate this process is simply too large to fit in the branches. Thecost would be prohibitive for the USPS to install such equipment in eachbranch. Furthermore, sorting centrally is also much more efficient,since the only sorters available today are multiple pass sorters whichmay include over a hundred bins and may require two or more sortsequences to get the mail in delivery sequence order. However, when thecarrier delivery sequence sorting is done centrally, and then sent tobranch offices, the carriers usually spend the first two to three hoursof their day merging sorted mail with other unsorted mail, much of whichwas shipped directly to the branch offices by publishers to receivediscounts on postage, and sorting it all to delivery sequence. For manyplaces in the postal network (especially outside the USA), mail is stillsorted by the carriers manually, placing each piece in a slot with adesignated address to sort the mail into delivery sequence.

The sorters available on the market today have significant limitations:they are either huge, expensive pieces of equipment with a very largenumber of bins, and require significant space to operate; or they have asmaller number of bins, but require multiple passes to operate. Thismulti-pass operation is a very labor-intensive process. So, for example,a sorter with 16 bins, sorting a job with 2000 mail pieces, will requirethree passes to sort to delivery sequence for 600 address on a route.That means the operator must load the mail, operate the sorter, thenunload the mail from each bin and re-load it into the feeder threetimes. While this results in some time savings compared to manualsorting, the value proposition is limited because of the high laborcontent. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,776 entitled “Single FeedOne Pass Mixed Mail Sequencer,” filed 2 Apr. 2001 and issued 29 Apr.2003.

It is because of the high labor content still required with high speed,multi-pass sorting equipment that postal services such as the USPS,Swiss Post, and Royal Mail have requested proposals for a single passsystem that can merge all mail together before it is sorted to deliverysequence. Likewise, the manual method is still the most common methodthat enterprises use to sort their incoming mail; this is also verylabor intensive, but the investment required and the size of availablemail sortation equipment is generally prohibitive.

The following two U.S. provisional patent applications are incorporatedherein in their entirety: application Ser. No. 60/589,634 (filed 21 Jul.2004), and application Ser. No. 60/634,014 (filed 7 Dec. 2004). Thefirst of those two provisional applications (Ser. No. 60/589,634)provided a basis for U.S. Regular Patent Application Serial No.2005025846 filed 21 Jul. 2005; and U.S. Regular Patent ApplicationSerial No. 2005025899 filed 21 Jul. 2005; and also U.S. Regular PatentApplication Serial No. 2005025634 filed 21 Jul. 2005. The second ofthose two provisional applications (Ser. No. 60/634,014) provided abasis for U.S. Regular Patent Application Serial No. 2005044560 filed 7Dec. 2005; and U.S. Regular Patent Application Serial No. 2005044406filed 7 Dec. 2005; and also U.S. Regular Patent Application Serial No.2005044413 filed 7 Dec. 2005. Those two previously filed U.S.provisional patent applications describe various aspects of a fullescort sorting system. Using such full escort sorting systems providesbenefits such as the following:

-   -   1. All mail can be sorted to delivery sequence in a single pass,        a pass being defined as one cycle of operator loading mail into        sorter.    -   2. The full range of mail can be handled including cards,        letters, flats, periodicals, publications, newspapers, and        parcels up to 25 mm thick.    -   3. The sorter operates at very slow speeds (0.05 m/sec compared        to the 5.0 m/sec for competitive sorting speeds)—but can        complete equivalent jobs in less time than competitive sorters.    -   4. Each mail piece is touched only once. After it is fed and        read, each mail piece is put in a clamp, and the sorter        interacts only with the clamp throughout the entire sorting        operations. Note that the present invention is, of course, not        limited to clamp-based sorting systems, and can work with        conventional sorters as well.    -   5. Automated unloading algorithms eliminate the need for an        operator to “sweep” the sorter (sweeping refers to manually        unloading the sorter).    -   6. The sorting stations can be modular—so that the sorter can be        configured as large or as small as needed, and can be adapted to        the customer's existing facility. The sorter uses vertical space        to reduce footprint.    -   7. The sorter can be operated with one or two operators in a        centralized application, compared to five to eight operators for        competitive equipment.

It is noted that the clamp arrangement just mentioned (at item 4) issimilar in a limited sense to an invention of Catherwood, disclosed byInternational Application PCT/GB02/05203 with International Filing Dateon 19 Nov. 2002. In Catherwood, however, it is required to attachself-adhesive tape to mail pieces, unlike in the two previously filedU.S. provisional patent applications that have been incorporated hereinby reference.

Centralized sorting centers such as the USPS facility at Wallingford,Conn., USA, process inbound mail during one or more shifts and outboundmail during other shifts within a 24-hour period. Inbound mail is mailcollected locally plus mail sent from other sorting centers intended forsorting and delivery within the area served by the centralized sortingcenter. Outbound mail is mail collected locally, destined for othersorting centers.

The Wallingford sorting center operates around the clock in threeshifts, and handles mail volumes of 5.5 million letters and about half amillion flats every 24 hours. Separate pieces of sorting equipment arerequired for letters and flats, and at least 20% of the mail cannot besorted by machine and must be sorted by hand.

To accomplish this level of volume, Wallingford currently has 25 piecesof sorting equipment, operated by 72 operators each shift. The specificequipment is as follows:

-   -   18 Delivery Bar Code Sorters (DBCS) with 206 bins for delivery        sequence sorting of letters, 40,000/hour, 2 operators    -   3 Bar Code Sorters (BCS)—only reads bar code, 100 stackers, 2        operators    -   3 FS100 for flats, requires 5 operators, 15,000-18,000 flats per        hour, 3 feeders    -   1 FS1000 for non-machinable flats: 5 operators    -   Newspapers sorted manually, probably 8-10 clerks

In addition, some areas of Wallingford are equipped with a trayhandling, storage, and retrieval system to move trays of mail from pointto point. However, much of the tray storage and transporting is stilldone manually by postal employees pushing trolleys full of mail trays byhand.

Impressive as the Wallingford sorting operation is, there are severalweaknesses in the current system, such as the following:

-   -   1. Dozens of employees are required to simply move mail onto and        off of trolleys, and move the trolleys from one point to another        point in the facility multiple times.    -   2. Each mail piece must be loaded onto a feeder belt so it can        be fed into a sorter, and then unloaded from the sorter multiple        times during the sorting process.    -   3. Each trip through the sorter involves risks that the mail        will jam, or be damaged by the automated processing equipment.        Typical operating speeds for the mail in a sorter are over 200        in/sec (5 meters/sec), which is so fast that the mail appears as        a blur. It is not uncommon for any single mail piece to go        through one or more mail sorters 4 to 6 times. Each of these        trips through the sorter increases the risk of jams or damage.    -   4. Despite the large investments in automation, a relatively        high proportion of the mail is still considered        “non-machinable.” Currently, about 20% of the letter mail cannot        be sorted automatically. An equivalent percentage of flats will        probably be considered non-machinable once the next generation        of flats sorting equipment is installed. This mail is still        manually sorted to route and then manually sorted again—to        delivery sequence—at the DDUs (Destination Delivery Units, or        local post offices where the mail carriers report to work).        These manually sorting steps are a time consuming and costly        process. Despite the high investments in automation, each mail        carrier still spends between 2.5 and 3 hours each day manually        sorting the mail that could not be sorted by machine. This step        alone costs the USPS about $3 Billion each year in labor costs.    -   5. There are a number of operations that are still done manually        at Wallingford because the mail cannot be handled by the        automated equipment. Newspapers, periodicals, flyers, and some        magazines fall into this category. Again, the manual operations        are the most costly in the sorting operations.    -   6. The sorting equipment has limited capacity and a finite        number of pockets—which is the reason mail must be run through        the sorters multiple times. Typically, the sorters are operated        in different modes at different times of the day. So, during one        shift, only outbound mail may be sorted. Any mail for the area        served by Wallingford is identified during the sorting process,        and set aside for sorting further during a later shift. A second        shift might then be used to sort the inbound mail to zone. The        mail is sorted again—to route. Mixed in with these sorting        processes is the “local” mail that was set aside during the        first shift sorting. Then, the third shift might re-sort all of        the mail sorted during the second shift—this time sorting to        delivery sequence. The sorters must be set up to operate with        these different sorting algorithms—and the sorted mail must be        unloaded, stored, then later made available for re-loading into        the sorter for subsequent sorts. This not only requires a lot of        labor, it also requires a lot of floor space for storing the        mail.    -   7. The 25 pieces of sorting equipment, and the space around them        to store trays of mail for processing multiple times all        requires a huge footprint. The floor space required for the 25        pieces of sorting equipment is nearly 70,000 square feet of        floor space. The cost of real-estate, heating, maintenance, etc.        must also be considered in the cost of processing the mail. If        this space could be reduced, the cost per mail piece for sorting        will similarly be reduced.    -   8. The sorting equipment tends to be dedicated to a single type        of mail piece. Separate systems are required for sorting        different types of mail: some sorters sort only letters and        others sort only flats. If a greater than normal volume of one        type of mail occurs on any particular day, there is no        opportunity to divert some of that mail processing to a sorter        designed to handle only the other type of mail. So, the managers        have limited flexibility in how they use the equipment.

So, while the automated sorting operations at Wallingford are quiteimpressive in the degree of efficiency and sophistication, there remainnumerous opportunities for improving the efficiency of the operationseven further. Wallingford is used only by example. All of the 387Wallingford-like sorting centers within the USPS network, and thethousands of Wallingford-like sorting centers in other postal systemsaround the world, would greatly benefit from increased efficiencies.

Many businesses these days operate as virtual companies—a developmentthat has been enabled with the advent of Internet sales. In virtualcompanies, nearly every aspect of the business is outsourced, includingthe fulfillment function. This has opened the door for new companies,whose business is providing fulfillment services for other companies.Additionally, a number of companies that take most of their orders overthe Internet have a very high percentage of their business costs in thefulfillment function. This is not because the cost of fulfillmentoperations has increased disproportionately, but because the costs ofthe other functions (sales, marketing, order processing, etc) has beenreduced significantly (because of the efficiency of the Internet). It isinteresting that a number of posts around the world are either offeringor are considering offering fulfillment services as a way of increasingrevenues. The posts see this as a logical extension to their mailprocessing operations. They charge new customers to warehouse (store)products, receive orders, pick products out of inventory, and mail themto the customer.

Fulfillment has always been a vital function in businesses that dealwith selling tangible products. Some companies are more efficient thanothers in performing this function. Investments in automation havetypically been limited to the documentation portion of the fulfillmentfunction: using the order information entered into computers to generatebilling and invoice documents, and printing labels for shipping theproducts. These investments have significantly increased theproductivity of fulfillment workers. The remaining activities in thefulfillment operations are still quite labor intensive, and thereforeexpensive. These activities include (but are not limited to): readingand interpreting the order information, identifying where the ordereditems are stored in inventory, moving to the locations of the storeditems, picking the items off the shelves, checking that all ordereditems have been collected from inventory, preparing these for shipping,manually packing the items into shipping cartons and applying shipping(or mailing) labels, etc. There is also a quality control function tocheck that the items being shipped match the items ordered just beforethe shipping cartons are sealed. Additional labor is required forordering inventory, logging it into the system, placing it on shelves,and periodically counting and confirming the number of items ininventory.

The high percentage of manual labor in the fulfillment functioncontributes to the overall cost of doing business. If the cost of laborcould be reduced here, the company's profitability could be increased.Alternatively, if the cost of fulfillment labor could be reduced, thesesavings could be passed onto the customers, which reduces the sellingprices of the items and enables the business to grow because it will bemore competitive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aforementioned provisional applications describe a mail sortingsystem that can handle mail pieces up to 25 mm thick. These mail piecesare individually clamped in mail clamps, moved via a first path past anumber of diverting stations so the items can be sorted, then aftersorting is complete, the sorted mail pieces are moved automatically toan unload station where they can be loaded into mail trays. The mailsorting system is modular and scalable so that it can be compressed orexpanded to accommodate whatever capacity is needed by the customer.

This same system can be adapted to automate the fulfillment functionsfor products of a certain size and type. The most obvious types ofproducts, which could be automatically fulfilled using this system, arebooks, CDs, DVDs, videotapes, and medicines. Other products such asperiodicals, articles of clothing, foodstuffs, etc could also beaccommodated in this automated fulfillment systems under certainconditions.

The system, method, and software of the present invention are designedfor moving inventory items to an unloading station in response to afulfillment order. An input device is used to enter identificationinformation about the inventory items. At a loading station, theinventory items are received and held by holders, and the holders arethen moved to a storage area. A controller is configured for creatingand storing a first association between the entered identificationinformation and each of the holders in which each of the inventory itemsis placed. A selector and transporter are responsive to the fulfillmentorder and the first association, and are configured to select a holderwhich holds the inventory items corresponding to the fulfillment order,and configured to transport the holder from the storage area to theunloading station. The unloading station can include means for openingthe sorted holders to release the inventory items.

The holders can advantageously be clamps, including jaws for releasablyholding each inventory item, and also including a machine readableidentifying means. In this case, the means for opening the holdersincludes a jaw opener. Also, the identifying means includes holderinformation (e.g. a unique identifier) which, in combination with theentered identification information on the inventory item, enablesselection of the inventory item in response to the fulfillment order.

According to an additional preferred embodiment of this system, method,and software, holders holding non-selected inventory items remain in thestorage area. The controller can also be configured to create and storea second association, between the entered identification information ofeach of the inventory items and the storage areas. The first associationcan uniquely associate each of the entered identification informationwith each of the holders, and the inventory items are retrievable fromone or more of the storage areas based upon the second association.

A package, label, or invoice for the fulfillment order can be prepared,for example before the inventory items arrive at the unloading station,and this preparation can be supervised by the controller. After an orderhas been fulfilled, holder recycling equipment can recycle the holdersfrom the unloading station to the loading station.

Preferably, this fulfillment system is configured for simultaneouslyloading, sorting, and unloading separate batches of inventory items.When the fulfillment system stores less than a predetermined amount of aparticular type of inventory item, a replenishment order canautomatically be initiated in order to obtain additional inventory itemsof that particular type for storage in the system's storage area(s). Thefulfillment system can include at least one pathway from the storageareas of the unloading station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate presently various embodiments ofthe invention, and assist in explaining the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a sort to trayful module in accordance with anembodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a fulfillment inventory modules with storageareas for storing inventory items until needed in accordance anembodiment of with the instant invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic of the fulfillment inventory modules of FIG. 2showing a stream of intermixed inventory moving down a pathway, andbeing diverted into the three storage areas;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of the fulfillment inventory modules of FIG. 3showing a first order nearing an output, and a second order in theprocess of being moved to a third (outer) transport prior to delivery tothe output area;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a fulfillment method according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a fulfillment system according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a macro sorter with pathways from multiplefeeders to multiple sorters;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a sort to delivery sequence module inaccordance with an embodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a sort to route module in accordance with anembodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a sorter module with a diverter path forseparating letters from flats in accordance with an embodiment of theinstant invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic of an inversion module for inverting letters orflats that have been separated by the module of FIG. 10 in accordance anembodiment of with the instant invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic of a mail unloading module for unloading lettersand flats in accordance an embodiment of with the instant invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic of a mail unloading module for unloading a fulltray of mail in accordance an embodiment of with the instant invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic of a mail unloading module of FIG. 13 showing themail being cascaded into the mail tray;

FIG. 15 is a schematic of a mail unloading module for unloading a fulltray of flats in accordance an embodiment of with the instant invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic of a mail unloading module of FIG. 15 showing theflats being cascaded into the flats tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, and it isto be understood that this description is for purposes of illustrationonly, and is not meant to limit the scope of the claimed invention.Operation of an adapted sorting system as a fulfillment system isdescribed below. The main benefit is that all of the labor associatedwith ordering and placing inventory, then picking, packing, and shippingordered items can be reduced dramatically, and replaced with automatedprocesses. The previously disclosed mail sorting system can be easilyadapted to automate the fulfillment function.

According to an embodiment of a mail sorting system, each mail piece issingulated, then captured by a clamp. From that point on, all mechanicaloperations act on the clamp, and the mail piece is not touched by eitherthe operator or the sorter equipment. Because all the clamps aresubstantially identical in shape and composition, they can bemanipulated by the machinery with a high degree of reliability. Thepresent system is capable of handling the entire diversity of theshapes, sizes and weights of mail stream with a consistent reliability,and thus can also handle a wide variety of products that are needed tofulfill and order.

The present system automatically handles letters, flats, postcards,periodicals, odd shaped mail pieces, and even parcels up to a specified,maximum thickness, simultaneously, and intermixed in any order orcombination. This capability significantly enhances efficiency.

Also, the present system touches/handles each mail piece only once tosingulate and load it into a clamp. After that, there is no more mailhandling—only clamp handling. Thus, even with the full gamut of mailpiece types, sizes, weights, conditions, and the like, the system willbe very reliable (few jams).

Moreover, the present system is capable of sorting all mail into carrierdelivery sequence after mail is loaded into the sorter only a singletime. There is no need for manual unloading and reloading the sorter formultiple pass operations. Thus, the present system completes the jobquickly, and requires far less labor than most conventional sorters.

Additionally, the present system eliminates the need to handle thenon-readable mail separately. All mail is handled in exactly the sameway. Every mail piece is fed, read, clamped, and moved into the sortersystem whether the address is readable or not. Video encoded data isappended to the mail piece location electronically. There is no need tospray on additional information, which saves the cost of the printingsubsystem. And there is no need to store the mail during the videoencoding step. So, the present sorter is much more compact and lessexpensive because these subsystems (printing and temporary storagetransports) are not required.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the present sorter is modular, so itcan be configured to any size, capacity, or shape, to fit existingfacilities without modification. A relatively small version of thissorter can fit in each DDU and complete the final sort for each routejust before the sorted mail is loaded onto the trucks—so that all themail that arrives at the DDU can be included in the one and only sortoperation. This makes the carriers very efficient by eliminating about2.5 hours or mail sorting each day, and further eliminates time at eachaddress merging multiple streams of mail manually.

Not only is the present machine more reliable because it handles clampsrather than mail in a single pass, but it is also more reliable becauseit operates at slow speeds while maintaining very high sortingthroughput rates. This maximizes system up-time with jam-free operation,and substantially fewer maintenance operations.

The system can process mail from three or more different routessimultaneously: one in the feeding operation, a second route in thesorting operation, and a third route in the unload and trayingoperation. This significantly reduces job time per route. Only duringthe steps of singulating the mail and transporting it to the clampingoperation are the mail pieces not escorted.

For all transporting, sorting, and unloading operations, the systemhandles and manipulates the clamp, not the mail. After unloading, clampsare retained in the system and re-circulated. The present system isfully modular, so that any capacity or footprint can be easilyconfigured without customizing the design of the component modules.

One such improvement is loading each mail piece into a clamp, andhandling the clamps rather than the mail pieces. Another improvement isrecycling empty clamps back to the feeder. Additionally, the presentinvention employs a single pass system that sorts to carrier sequence bymoving unsorted mail on a first transport, and moving sorted mail to asecond transport in a specific sequence, using clamps and clamp drivingmeans to convey the mail. Further improvements included in the presentinvention are: feeding the clamped mail pieces into a queue beforestarting the sorting step, and also performing three separate operations(feeding, sorting, and unloading) simultaneously with three separatebatches of mail associated with three separate routes. The presentsystem handles non-machine readable mail in exactly the same fashion asmachine readable mail. (Also, eliminates the need to print additionalinformation on non-readable mail). Other innovations of the presentinvention include a clamp management system in which the clamps areoriented upside down for loading, right side up for sorting, then upsidedown again for unloading; a clamp management system in which the clampscan be moved from one drive system to at least one additional drivesystem (for sorting); and a clamp management system in which clamps canbe initially spaced at a distance from one another, and thensubsequently the distance removed so that the clamps abut one another.Also included in an embodiment of the present invention is a sortingsystem in which the mail pieces are handled in an orientation in whichthe faces of the mail pieces are perpendicular to the direction ofmotion throughout all sorting operations in order to reduce the systemfootprint and operate at slow speeds without reducing the sortingthroughput rate.

According to the sorting system of an embodiment of the presentinvention, the system accepts a group of mail pieces at one or moreloading stations, sorts the group of mail pieces into a desired sequenceaccording to delivery information on the mail pieces, and then moves themail pieces to at least one unloading station. The system includes areader for retrieving delivery information associated with each mailpiece, and also includes clamps dimensioned for receipt of a mail pieceinto each clamp. Although other embodiments of the invention utilizeconventional sorters without clamps, in this embodiment the system hasmeans for placing each mail piece into one of the clamps, and means forcreating an association between the retrieved delivery information ofeach mail piece and its respective clamp. The system also has a sorterfor moving the clamps which hold the mail pieces, based upon theassociation of each clamp with the retrieved delivery information, sothat the mail pieces held by the clamps are sorted according to thedesired sequence. Additionally, the system includes means for openingthe sorted clamps to release the mail pieces at the unloading station.

I. Embodiment of a Fulfillment System

This embodiment of the present invention uses the system developed forsorting mail as an automated fulfillment system. It accepts inventory,loads each inventory item in a clamp having a unique identifier,automatically moves multiple identical items to a storage location inthe sorter (similar to the sorting function), then later retrievesidentified items listed on order forms from their various storagelocations and delivers them to an unload station. The system works inconjunction with order information processing software so that when theordered items are automatically “picked” and delivered to an unloadstation, a shipping envelope or carton having labels with the customer'saddress and an invoice arrive at the same place at the same time. Theprocess of packing the items in the container could be manual in orderto provide a human element to quality control (a final check), or itcould be automated with specialized packing equipment. Thesorter-turned-fulfillment-system also keeps inventory control, canautomate the re-ordering process when inventory of any item reaches acertain threshold, and can be scaled up to accommodate additional itemsas the business grows.

The major benefit of this embodiment is reduction of substantial costsfor labor, and increase in the efficiency of the entire fulfillmentprocess. A document management system can be incorporated so that theentire process of order fulfillment can be automated and commanded froma computer console. Because the inventoried items are clamped duringstorage and transport, the system will be highly reliable and tolerantof a wide variety of shapes and sizes of inventory items.

In the aforementioned provisional applications, three sorting buildingblocks were described in which a type 3 sorter module is used when thesorter needs to sort outbound mail in a standard sortation (pass thru)mode of operations. This was shown in present FIG. 1. The type 3 sortingmodule has three transporting pathways for the mail: a first pathway tomove the mail past the sorting station, a second pathway which servesonly to store sorted mail until one tray full is accumulated, and athird pathway to move the tray's worth of sorted mail past anydownstream sorting stations and to deliver it to the unload/trayingstation. Additionally, diverter paths are provided to move the mailbetween the three transporting paths. These three paths are shown inFIG. 1. The module 300 includes unsorted mail input 330, sorted mailinput 335, unsorted mail output 340, and sorted mail output 345. A firstdiverter path 350 is for moving sorted mail from a middle (storage) path355 to a third (transporting) path 360. A second diverter path 365 isfor culling mail from an unsorted path 370 to the middle path 355. Themiddle path 355 can sort and store up to three hundred pieces of mail(one tray full). The sorted batch 375 moves from an upstream moduletowards an unloader.

This same module 300 can be adapted to serve as an automated fulfillmentsystem. For the sake of simplicity, only four modules will be shown inthe example below. But, as with the previously disclosed sorting system,any number of these modules can be assembled together to scale up thesystem to match the desired capacity. As with the mail sorter, themodules can be arrayed in any fashion desired by the customer: linearly,in a racetrack configuration, and stacked in multiple tiers to minimizefootprint requirements.

It will be evident that the capacity of the middle path can be adaptedto any capacity that is needed. In this current example, we havemodified the mail sorting version to include two storage areas permiddle path, rather than one area shown in the mail handling version. Itwill be appreciated that any number of stations from one (as with themail module), to about 20 interim storage stations could be included inthe middle path. Each of these would have a first diverter path to moveitems from the first transport path to the middle path, and a seconddiverter path to move items from the middle path to the third path.

In this present, simplified example, with two storage areas per module,and four modules per system, a total of eight batches of inventory itemscould be loaded into the sorter, stored until needed, then automaticallydelivered in smaller quantities to the output area to fulfill an order.FIG. 2 shows a system 1200 of four fulfillment inventory modules, eachhaving two storage areas for storing inventory items until needed. Asseen in FIG. 2, a turn module 1210 has been added to move items in thefirst and third paths from the second to the third fulfillment module(type 3). FIG. 2 shows what the simplified system looks like when empty,with inventory 1220 about to be loaded. Only three of these eightstorage areas 1230 thru 1237 will be used in the following example. Forloading the fulfillment system, the operator takes new inventory, scansit, loads each piece into a clamp, and ingests the clamped item into thefulfillment system in the same way as clamped mail is loaded into thesorter system. The mechanism for accomplishing the clamping operation isnot shown. It could be a manual, automated operation, or semi-automatedoperation. The essential steps are scanning an identifying bar code oneach piece of inventory, clamping it, and moving in into the fulfillmentsystem on the first path.

In the same way as a sorting system operates, the first path moves allof the clamped inventory past the diverter stations on the first path,diverting each item to the proper storage area, and passing the itemsfrom module to module until all of the clamped inventory has beendiverted into its proper location for storage.

In the simplified example, it is assumed that books are the inventoryitems being loaded into the fulfillment station. In this example, thereare three types of books (types A, B, and C). As inventory is loadedinto the fulfillment system in any order, the system transports theinventory items, and diverts them into the proper storage places. FIG. 3shows the fulfillment inventory modules of FIG. 2 wherein a stream ofintermixed inventory moves down the first pathway 1310, and is divertedinto three storage areas 1231 for type A books, 1232 for type B books,and 1236 for type C books. Meanwhile, unsorted inventory items 1240 and1250 on the first pathway 1310 move past the diverter paths.

After inventory is loaded into the fulfillment system, the operator canenter an order at a control panel to deliver any combination of items tofulfill a specific order. For example, if a first order entered is forone type A book stored in area 1231 and two type C books stored in area1230, the fulfillment system will move these items from their respectivestorage areas in the middle pathway to the third (outermost) pathway,which will transport the items to the output area. Meanwhile, a secondorder for a type B book could be entered. As soon as the items from thefirst order pass the storage area for the type B book stored in area1232, the fulfillment system will command the type B book to be moved tothe third path for delivery to the output behind the first order.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the fulfillment inventory modules of FIG. 3 areagain shown, with a first order 1405 nearing an output 1410, and asecond order 1420 in the process of being moved to a third (outer)transport prior to delivery to the output area 1410.

When the items are delivered to the exit area, a compatible system (notshown) will deliver a shipping container (envelope, carton, box, or thelike), along with the shipping address, postage, and an invoicing sheet.This system can be automated and controlled so that the ordered itemsand the prepared shipping carton all arrive at the exit areasimultaneously. The act of inserting the contents into the shippingcarton can be manual or automatic.

Today, most fulfillment operations are manual operations—usually done onfoot by low paid workers. For some companies, the “pickers” have in thepast used roller skates to speed up their ability to walk through vastinventory areas in search of the correct items to fulfill orders. Theabove proposal automates both this process and the inventory storingprocess.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart illustrates a method 1500according to an embodiment of the invention. Identification informationidentifying the inventory items is entered 1505, and the inventory itemsare received and held 1510 by holders. A first association is createdand stored 1520, the association being between the ID information andthe respective holder. Each holder is moved 1522 to a storage area, andstored 1525 in the storage area. A second association is created 1530,between the ID information and the storage area. Ultimately, each holderis selected and transported 1535 from the storage area(s) for unloading,based upon a fulfillment order, and the first and second associations.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a fulfillment system 1600 according to anembodiment of this invention. A holder 1605 receives and holds aninventory item 1610 at a loading station 1615. An input device 1620facilitates entry of ID information identifying the inventory item 1610,and a controller 1625 creates and stores the first association linkingthe identification information of the inventory item with the holderholding it. When a holder is transported to a storage area 1630 asindicated by the curved dashed line, the controller 1625 creates andstores the second association linking the identification information ofthe inventory item with the storage area where it is located. Whenfulfillment order information is transmitted to the controller 1625through a communication portal 1650, the controller uses the first andsecond associations to determine where the requested fulfillment item islocated, for example in storage area 1630, and then the controllerinstructs the selector and transporter 1635 to select a holder 1605 fromthe storage area 1630 and transport the holder 1605 to an unloadingstation 1640 as indicated by the other curved dashed line.

Algorithms for implementing this fulfillment system can be realizedusing a general purpose or specific-use computer system, with standardoperating system software conforming to the method described above. Thesoftware product is designed to drive the operation of the particularhardware of the system. A computer system for implementing thisembodiment includes a CPU processor or controller 1625 as shown in FIG.6, comprising a single processing unit, multiple processing unitscapable of parallel operation, or the CPU can be distributed across oneor more processing units in one or more locations, e.g., on a client andserver. The CPU may interact with a memory unit having any known type ofdata storage and/or transmission media, including magnetic media,optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), adata cache, a data object, etc. Moreover, similar to the CPU, the memorymay reside at a single physical location, comprising one or more typesof data storage, or be distributed across a plurality of physicalsystems in various forms.

II. Macro Sorter Embodiment

As previously described, centralized sorting centers such as the USPSfacility at Wallingford, Conn. process inbound mail (mail collectedlocally plus mail sent from other sorting centers) and outbound mail(mail collected locally, destined for other sorting centers). The USPShas invested heavily in automating the sorting center. Today, thissorting center operates round the clock in 3 shifts, and handles mailvolumes of 5.5 million letters every 24 hours. To accomplish this levelof volume, Wallingford currently has 18 Delivery Bar Code Sorters(DBCS), each with 206 bins, and a feeder that is rated at 40,000/hour.It takes 2 operators for each sorter unit for each shift.

This invention increases efficiency, lowers the risks of jams and damageto the mail pieces during processing, reduces the labor required forsorting, reduces the number of pieces of sorting equipment required, andreduces the floor space required, all while processing the same amountof mail in the same amount of time. The novelty of this embodiment ofthe instant invention is in separating the multiple feeders frommultiple sorters, and providing pathways from each feeder to eachsorter. In this way, the multiple pieces of sorting equipment operatetogether in the equivalent of a single, macro-sorter.

One embodiment of the instant invention is directed to high volumeapplications with the escort sorter described in the aforementionedprovisional applications. But, more importantly, this embodiment of theinstant invention also works well on conventional sorters.

Centralized sorting facilities typically have multiple pieces of sortingequipment, each having one or more feeders. Each feeder is capable ofsingulating and reading the addresses on mail pieces, and then advancingthe mail pieces into a mail sorter uniquely paired with the one or morefeeders. Each mail piece is typically fed through the sorter multipletimes. The improvement described herein dramatically improves thesorting efficiency by separating multiple feeders from multiple sorters,and providing pathways from each feeder to each sorter.

This arrangement will reduce the number of sorters required, reduce thenumber of times each mail piece must be sorted, reduce the total laborrequired for sorting, reduce the floor space required for sortingequipment and mail storage, and substantially improve the efficiency ofthe entire sorting operation.

The sorting algorithms used at centralized sorting facilities are highlycustomized based on historical volumes of mail going to variousdestinations. In the USPS network, there are 387 centralized sortingfacilities. But, based on historical averages, the USPS knows only acertain number of these centralized sorting facilities will receiverelatively high volumes of mail collected in Connecticut (examples: NewYork, Massachusetts, New Jersey, etc.). Others will typically receivemoderate volumes of mail. And perhaps as many as half of the centralizedsorting facilities may receive very small volumes of mail originating inConnecticut (examples: South Dakota, Idaho). Likewise, for internationalmail, some countries will receive a significant volume of mailoriginating in Connecticut (examples: England, Germany, Canada, etc.),and other countries will receive very small amounts (examples Romania,Botswana, etc.).

As a rough approximation, about half the mail sorted at Wallingford isoutbound mail (destined either for other countries or other sortingcenters), and half is retained for distribution within the Wallingforddelivery area. For comparative purposes, we can assume that about halfthe outbound mail (one fourth of the total mail volume) needs to besorted only once, and the other half (one fourth of the total) needs tobe sorted twice before being sent off to other sorting centers orinternational destinations. The half of the mail that is destined forthe delivery area served by Wallingford must be sorted a total of threetimes, whether it originated in the Wallingford area, or it came in fromother sorting centers. Given these approximations, the average piece ofmail passing through Wallingford must be sorted 2.25 times.

Interestingly, this information can be used to determine that the actualoperation of Wallingford is about 71% efficient when processing lettermail. There are 18 Delivery Bar Code Sorters at Wallingford, eachcapable of feeding letters at 40,000 per hour. So, in any 24 hourperiod, the sorting center should be capable of sorting 18 sorters×24hours×40,000 feeds per hour/2.25 feeds per letter=7,680,000 letters at100% efficiency. Since Wallingford capacity is only 5,500,000 letters in24 hours, it can be calculated that the aggregate efficiency of thesorting operations is 71%. Another way to state this is that the actualhourly rate will be 28,400/hour, not 40,000 rated sorts per hour.

This embodiment of the instant invention is a system and method formaking all of the sorters in a centralized sorting facility operatetogether to form a single sorter with a much higher number of sorterbins and a higher level of efficiency. This arrangement will reduce thenumber of times the average mail piece must pass through the sorter, orbe loaded and unloaded. It will also reduce the number of sortersrequired to achieve the same daily capacity. This arrangement will savedramatically on labor and the substantially reduce the number of jamsand damage to mail pieces. Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagramshows a macro sorter system 400 with pathways from multiple feeders tomultiple sorters. Each of the feeders 410 may include a reader, and eachof the sorters 415 may be a Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS). There is apathway 420 from each of the feeders to all of the sorters. Feeders 410may be manual or automatic methods of inputting mail into the system.

According to this embodiment of the instant invention each feeder isseparated from each sorter, and provided a pathway from each feeder toeach sorter. So, for example, while Wallingford currently has 18Delivery Bar Code Sorters (DBCS) each with its own feeder (and reader),and each with 206 bins, this new arrangement will enable the same volumeof mail to be processed with only 12 sorters. When a pathway is createdfrom each feeder to each of the 12 Delivery Bar Code Sorters, thisessentially creates a single sorter with 12×206=2,472 bins.

Rather than having to allocate bins based on historical volumes, thebins can be allocated with much simpler algorithms. For example, 386bins might be allocated to the other centralized sorting centers withinthe USPS, and another 200 allocated to specific foreign countrydesignations. With these assignments, all outbound mail (50% of thetotal volume) will need to be sorted only once. This also leaves 1,886bins available for sorting inbound mail (for delivery within theWallingford delivery area). The Wallingford distribution area hasapproximately 600 individual routes, each having about 600 addresses.So, one algorithm for this Macro-sorter would be to assign three binsfor each route during the first pass, each for 200 addresses, for atotal of 1800 bins. The remaining 86 bins could be assigned for anythingelse that makes sense, but will not be needed for this example. Afterall the mail is fed only once, half of it is sorted to the outbounddestinations, and the other half is sorted to ⅓ of each route (200addresses sorted per bin assignment). This sorted-to-⅓-route mail mustbe fed one last time to be sorted to delivery sequence. Each one-thirdroute can be fed within a single sorter for the last pass.

Thus, each outbound mail piece (50% of total volumes) needs to be sortedonly once, and each inbound mail piece (50% of total volumes) needs tobe sorted only twice. Overall, each mail piece is sorted an average ofonly 1.5 times—using only 12 sorters. This compares with the existingsituation for the same volume of mail (5,500,000 pieces per 24 hourperiod) which requires 18 sorters sorting each piece an average of 2.25times.

In this example, the same mail can be sorted on two thirds of theequipment, requiring only two thirds of the floor space, and two thirdsof the operators. More importantly, if we can think of Wallingford as anaverage sized sorting facility (which it is), then the annual savings byeliminating the labor to operate the 6 sorters that are not needed canbe calculated as follows: 2 operators×6 sorters×3 shifts×387 sortercenters×$45,000 annual salary and benefits=$627 million savings peryear. Additional savings will occur by reducing the total floor spacerequired, reducing managerial staff, selling un-needed sortingequipment, and the like.

An example of a method 1500 according to the present invention is shownin FIG. 5. A feeder is separated 1525 from a sorter, and multiplepathways are then provided 1530 from the feeder to multiple sorters.Then, mail is again processed, and a pathway is selected 1535 to one ofthe multiple sorters from the feeder, according to delivery informationon a mail piece. Then the mail pieces are received 1510 at the sorterfrom the feeder. The sorter then sorts 1520 the mail pieces. And, theselected sorter will then provide the mail piece to a sorter bin. Themail piece is received 1540 by a selected sorter bin, according to thedelivery information. FIG. 6 shows a system 1600 prior to the separationof the feeder 1605 from the sorter 1615. The separation is achievedusing a transport mechanism 1610. Once this transport mechanism is used,then the multiple pathways can be inserted to yield an arrangement likethat shown in FIG. 7.

III. Integrated Escort Sorter for Centralized Sorting Applications—DualOperating Algorithms

In addition to the previously disclosed benefits of a full escortsorting system, this embodiment of the instant invention providesadditional operations and configurations that further increase theefficiency and reliability of the proposed sorting system. For example:

-   -   1. Provides multiple types of sorting modules on a sorting        system to enable simultaneous sorting of both outbound and        inbound mail.    -   2. Operates simultaneously with two separate sorting algorithms:        Inbound mail is sorted in a batch mode algorithm. Once loaded        into the sorter, it is first sorted to route, and retained in        the sorter until a sort to delivery sequence is required.        Outbound mail is sorted to destination using a conventional        “thru-sort” algorithm, i.e., mail is automatically unloaded as        soon as one trayful is accumulated.    -   3. There is no need to complete a preliminary sort to separate        inbound and outbound mail. All mail that enters the facility is        entered into the sorter. The sorter recognizes each mail piece        as inbound or outbound, and sorts it with the appropriate one of        the two algorithms mentioned above.    -   4. Manual operations such as sorting newspapers, and        automatically sorting what is currently considered        “non-machinable mail” can now be sorted automatically when such        mail pieces are manually fed past a reader, then automatically        clamped and sorted along with all the other “machinable” mail.    -   5. There is no need to cull out non-machinable mail, or to        separate collection mail into letters and flats. All types of        mail can be loaded directly into the sorter completely        intermixed, once it is received at the facility.

This invention greatly increases efficiency, dramatically lowers therisks of jams and damage to the mail pieces during processing (byhandling each mail piece only once, at very slow speeds), reduces thelabor required for sorting by about 80%, reduces the number of pieces ofsorting equipment required by 60%, and reduces the floor space requiredby about 80%, all while processing the same amount of mail in the sameamount of time. It further provides management flexibility by replacingequipment that can handle only a single type of mail (letters or flats)with equipment that can handle all types of mail—even those types ofmail that have to be sorted manually with the current systems. Within acentralized sorting facility, the need for automated (or manual) trayhandling equipment is eliminated. Trays are required only for bringingmail into the facility and taking it out of the facility, but not withinthe sorting operations inside the facility. So, all the equipmentcurrently required for transporting, storing, and retrieving mail trayscan be eliminated, along with the floor space required for suchequipment.

The aforementioned provisional patent applications described variousaspects of a sorting concept that escorts the mail throughout thesorting system so that the mail can be sorted after being touched onlyonce throughout the sorting process. Each mail piece is clamped in aclamp, and all of the sorting mechanisms operate on the clamp, and noton the mail piece itself. This enables the sorting system to handle theentire spectrum of mail piece types simultaneously. Much of the thinkingfor these disclosures was for a device to be placed in the DDUs, to beoperated for the final step of sorting one route's worth of mail todelivery sequence. Many posts, such as the Royal Mail and Deutsche Post,are interested in automating the centralized sorting facilities. Thus,this embodiment of the instant invention focuses on scaling up thesorting concepts disclosed in the aforementioned provisional patentapplications to operate with much higher volumes in centralizedfacilities.

Disclosed herein is a method and system for simultaneously sortinginbound and outbound mail in a centralized sorting center. All mailcoming into a centralized sorting facility is loaded into the sorter.The sorter identifies each piece as either inbound or outbound. Inboundmail is sorted using a batch mode algorithm in which each mail piece isfirst sorted to route and retained within the sorter. Just before themail is to be sent to the local post offices for delivery, this inboundmail is recycled without leaving the sorter for a second pass to sort itto delivery sequence and unload it into trays. Outbound mail is sortedusing a pass-thru algorithm in which the sorter sorts mail for a numberof delivery destinations, and retains the mail only until a tray full ofmail for a common destination is collected. When a tray full iscollected for a common destination, this mail is sent to an unloadingand traying subsystem, which automatically puts the mail into a traymarked for the correct destination. For both inbound and outbound mail,the mail is fed into the sorter only once. Unloading is completelyautomated, thereby saving substantial labor.

Sorting systems to accomplish simultaneous inbound and outbound sortingare assembled using three types of sorting modules:

-   -   1. Type 1 having many address stations each with small capacity        for final sorting to delivery sequence. Type 1 modules can also        be used in the same way as Type 2 modules by ganging together        multiple address stations to form a single address station with        much larger capacity during the first sorting pass. Then it can        be used for finer sorting operations using all or most of the        smaller capacity address stations during a second pass.    -   2. Types 2A & 2B, with a single address station capable of        storing large capacity of clamped mail pieces. These will be        re-circulated through the sorter for a finer sort at a later        time.    -   3. Type 3, having three paths for advancing unsorted mail,        storing capacity sufficient to fill one tray of sorted mail, and        a third path for bypassing downstream sorting stations to        advance the sorted mail to an unloading and traying station.

These three types of sorting modules are assembled into a sorting systemalong with other subsystems such as feeders, turn modules, trayingsubsystems, controller, etc. A typical assembly for a large sortingsystem is shown in the Figures.

This large sorter assembly is operated using two sorting algorithmssimultaneously, as described above. In a typical sorting assembly, thereis flexibility in how the different types of sorting modules will beplaced in the sorting sequence. For example, in one configuration,multiple Type 3 modules may be placed first in line. Outbound mail willhave a short path from the feeder to the sorting stations for outbounddestinations. Then, multiple type 2A and 2B modules may be placed nextin line. Inbound mail will pass through all of the type 3 stations, andarrive at the type 2 stations where the mail will be sorted to route andtemporarily stored in the Type 2 stations. Finally, the Type 1 stationsmay be placed last in line. Mail previously sorted to route and storedin type 2 stations will then be advanced from the type 2 stations to thetype 1 stations for sorting to delivery sequence.

This typical order of the various modules may be selected to minimizethe distance the average mail piece needs to travel through the sorter.Other arrangements of the various sorting module types may be made inorder to optimize sorter operations to achieve different goals. Forexample, if only one unloading and traying subsystem is included in thesorter, a customer may want to move the outbound mail closest to thetraying station (put type 3 modules last in line) to reduce the amountof time it takes the “tray's worth” of outbound mail collected in thetype 3 modules to reach the traying station.

A more detailed description of the three types of sorting modulesfollows:

Sort to Delivery Sequence Module—Type 1:

For sorting configurations in which sort to delivery sequence is afunctional requirement, an average of 5 pieces will be sorted to eachaddress in the US applications, and an average of 2 to 3 will be sortedto each address in typical European applications. Thus, a sorter modulewith 16 to 20 paths between the input side (unsorted mail) and thesorted side is an appropriate design. This will be the most expensive ofthe sorter building blocks. FIG. 8 shows an example of this type ofsorting module, which can be referred to as a sort to delivery sequencemodule 100.

The module 100 stores and transports mail pieces 103 suspended fromclamps (not shown), and the illustrated module may store up to 160 mailpieces for 15 sorting stations, each having a 10 piece capacity. Thetypical maximum mail piece dimensions for this module would be 12″ tall,15″ wide, and 1″ inches thick. The module includes drives 105 forindividual sorted mail stations, and sorting paths (mail diverters) 110to those sort stations. A helix spring transition 115 is providedbetween drive screws of adjacent modules. The module has an input forunsorted mail 120 and also an input for sorted mail 125 from a moduleupstream from the one shown in FIG. 8. The module also has an output forunsorted mail 130, and an output for sorted mail 135.

This sorting module can be used in a first mode in which only one of thesorting paths is used to divert the mail from the unsorted path to thesorted path. Many, or all, of the other sorting paths will not be usedin this first mode of operation. Many of the multiple sorted mailstations will be ganged together to form a single large capacity sortedmail station. This is beneficial for the first step of sorting inboundmail to route, in which typically 3000 mail pieces need to be stored forlater processing. The second mode of operation will be used, typicallylate in the day. In this mode, the mail previously sorted to route willbe moved back through the sorter to be sorted to delivery sequence. Inthis mode, all or most of the diverting paths and address stations willbe used—each having a small capacity sufficient to store mail for asingle address. In this mode, neighboring address stations might beganged together to store more mail than a single station is designed tohandle. This decision will be made and planned by the master controllerjust before the second mode of operation is initiated.

Sort to Route Modules—Types 2A and 2B

For applications in which both inbound and outbound mail will be sortedsimultaneously, or in applications in which inbound mail only will besorted first to route, then to delivery sequence in a second pass, themodules used to sort to route will be far simpler than the “Sort toDelivery Sequence” module described above. A sort to route addressstation, with a storage capacity of say, 600 mail pieces (forapplication to India Post, for example, where the average mail deliveredper route is 500 pieces per day), will actually consist of two stationsabutting each other.

Referring now to FIG. 9, the first module 200 will have a single pathway215 to divert mail from the unsorted path to the sorted path, in orderto create a single long sort station. The second module 210 will haveonly two parallel pathways extending the entire length of the module:one path 220 for unsorted mail, and one path 225 for sorted mail. Themodule 200 includes unsorted mail input 230, sorted mail input 235,unsorted mail output 240, and sorted mail output 245. For European andUS implementations, where the mail per route is a higher number,additional type 210 modules can be added until the appropriate capacityis achieved.

Note that the frame, the mail diversion path between the unsorted andsorted mail paths, and the lead screw, drive mechanisms, etc will all becommon with type 1 modules. But, fewer diversion paths are required, sothat the cost of these modules will be substantially less than the type1 modules.

Sort a Trayful Module—Type 3:

Type 3 sorter modules will be used when the sorter needs to sortoutbound mail in a standard sortation (pass thru) mode of operations.The incremental value brought by this sorter configuration is theautomated unload feature. Once enough mail has been diverted from theunsorted path to a sort station, that mail can then be moved to anautomated unload and traying station, thereby empting the sortingstation to begin receiving mail for the next tray full.

In previous configurations of this sorter, once the mail was sorted, allthe mail in the sorted mail path moved to the automated unload andtraying station in the same order as it was originally sorted. In thispass thru mode of operation, the mail from any sort station may need tobypass all the mail being accumulated in sort stations downstream tomove to the unload station (since the sort stations downstream may notbe filled with one tray's worth of mail yet). Therefore, there must be apathway to allow mail upstream to bypass the not yet filled sortingstations downstream. We can think of the sorted mail station as aninterim storage area between two pathways.

In the configuration below, the transfer path from the unsorted mailpath to the sorted mail accumulated area is identical with themechanisms used in types 1 and 2 modules. The capacity of the interimstorage area is typically about 300 mail pieces (assuming a US sizedmail tray). So, this will be nearly as long as the length of the module(300 pieces at 5 per inch will require 60″ of storage area).

The pathway from the interim storage path to the output path for sortedmail requires a new mechanism for moving mail. Details for this junctionmechanism are shown in FIG. 1 which illustrates a sort to trayful module300 that can alternatively be used as part of a fulfillment system (asdescribed above). The module 300 includes unsorted mail input 330,sorted mail input 335, unsorted mail output 340, and sorted mail output345. A first diverter path 350 is for moving sorted mail from a middle(storage) path 355 to a third (transporting) path 360. A second diverterpath 365 is for culling mail from an unsorted path 370 to the middlepath 355. The middle path 355 can store a sufficient number of mailpieces to fill one tray. Also shown in FIG. 6 is a sorted batch 375moving from an upstream module towards an unloader, bypassing the mailbeing stored on transport 355.

Arranging these three types of sorting modules into a sorting systemwill result in a large sorter configured for centralized sortingapplications. There are various benefits of using such sorters in placeof the current state-or-the-art sorters in centralized sortingfacilities such as at Wallingford, Conn. Using the multi-algorithm, fullescort sorters as provided by various embodiments of the presentinvention will create the following benefits for the USPS, and similarbenefits for other posts.

-   -   10 Merged Mail Sorters can replace 25 current sorters    -   Newspapers can be sorted automatically, not manually    -   Only 20% of floor space is required for sorting equipment        compared to current system    -   Eliminate interim traying: entire tray transport, storage, and        retrieval system can be eliminated    -   Number of sorter operators can be reduced from about 72 to about        15 per shift. ($2 B/year savings)        IV. Value Added Service Products for Posts using Merged Mail        Sorter

Posts are under considerable pressure to maintain or increase revenuesand profits in the face of mail volumes that are predicted to decline,or at least to stop growing. Most posts are looking for value addedservices that can be offered to customers for incremental charges. Suchservices as insurance, confirmation of delivery, registered mail, etc,have been in existence for a long time. The charges for these servicesare significantly higher than ordinary postage, but they also requireconsiderable expense since many of the steps involved in processing mailwith these value added services require significant amounts of manuallabor for filling out forms, scanning, tracking, and other specialhandling operations.

Additional value added services would be desirable to provide additionalsources of revenue for the posts. For example, if the current locationof any mail piece within the postal system could be identified quickly,and the piece retrieved or acted on electronically or manually,additional services such as re-routing the piece to a different address,stopping delivery of the piece, returning the piece to the sender beforeattempting to deliver it to the addressee, or guaranteeing delivery at aspecific time on a specific day could all be offered by the posts foradditional charges in order to increase the postal revenues. It isdifficult to consider offering these services today because of thedifficulty in finding a specific mail piece once it has entered thepostal processes.

With the current sortation equipment used in the USPS and other postsaround the world, individual mail pieces with unique identifiers such asplanet codes are identified only when they pass a certain point in theprocess. After passing those points, there is no way, short of manualsearching for specific mail pieces, to retrieve a mail piece for variousdesirable modifications. It is known to approximate the location of anysingle mail piece as having passed a certain point in the process, butnot yet having passed the next point in the process. If a specific mailpiece with a unique identifier such as a planet code is needed, the nextpoint at which the codes on the mail pieces will be read could beprogrammed to look for a specific identified mail piece when it passesthe downstream reader. A diverting transport could be installed at thatpoint to cull the specific mail piece out of the mail stream so that itcan be acted on. But this may involve considerable delays between thetime the service is requested by a postal patron and the time the mailpiece might actually be identified. Also, the mail piece could havemoved to a different city by the time it passes by the next planet codereader—and in some value added services, it may have to be sent back theway it came. This adds cost and delays. It would clearly be preferred tofind the mail piece as early in the postal process as possible.

One of the attributes of the full-escort merged mail sorter described inthe aforementioned provisional applications is that the location of eachmail piece can be made known at every point between the first time itenters a sorter until it is actually delivered to the addressee. Thesorting process starts with scanning information on the face of the mailpiece, including all postnet bar codes, planet codes, IBIP information,address information, and anything else that the scanning software isequipped to interpret. This information is associated with a uniqueidentifier on a clamp, and the mail piece is loaded into the clamp.Throughout the sorting process, the exact location of the mail piece isknown by the controller on the sorter. In some centralized sortingoperations, the mail piece may be retained by the sorter for up to 21hours in the normal sorting operation. During this time, if any mailpiece with a unique identifier such as a planet code needs to beretrieved at any time, it can be retrieved by the sorter and returned tothe sorter operator by simply entering a command on the sorter userinterface. The aforementioned provisional applications also describe theconcept of associating all information on mail pieces in the sorter witha unique identifier on the mail tray into which the sorter stacks themail pieces as the last step in the sorting operation. Thus, even afterthe mail piece has left the sorter, it can still be isolated to aspecific mail tray with a unique identifier. When this tray is loadedinto a truck or airplane for transport to a different destination, theidentity of all mail trays loaded in the transport can be associatedwith an identifier on the transport.

Thus, additional value added services can be offered by the posts togenerate additional revenues based on this ability to isolate and actupon a single mail piece with a unique identifier while it is anywherewithin the postal processes. These value added services may include thefollowing: re-directing a mail piece to a new destination; stopping thedelivery of a mail piece; guaranteeing the delivery of the mail piece ata certain time on a certain day—before or after the piece is inductedinto the postal system.

Re-directing a mail piece to a new destination can be a valuable serviceto a postal patron who has recently mailed an important mail piece, andthen realizes that the address was incorrect, or the addressee hasrecently moved, or the addressee is temporarily at a different location.Today, the posts can do nothing to correct the situation. The mail piecewill be delivered to the original address. With the proposed system, theposts can find and identify the mail piece wherever it is in the postalprocess, modify the address on the mail piece, and divert it to bedelivered to the new address. This service can save the postal patrondays, not to mention the difficulty of retrieving a mail piece once ithas been delivered to the original address. If, for example, the addressis a residential home with a “slot in the door” type mailbox, and theaddressee has moved, or is on a trip—there may not be a way to retrievethe mail piece within a short period of time. It would be worth apremium payment to the post to prevent this situation from occurring inthe first place, and redirect the mail piece to the revised address.

Stopping the delivery of a mail piece could be a valuable service by thepost for a postal patron who may have regrets about the contents of amail piece after dropping it in a mail box. Today, there is no way tostop the delivery of that piece. The post could charge an extra fee forfinding the mail piece wherever it is in the postal process and eitherdestroying it, or returning it to the sender. Some examples of where apostal patron may welcome using such a service may be a nasty letterwritten to a relative, lover, or a boss; a check with too many zeros, ortoo few; or an order form for an expensive product that the postalpatron later realizes that he/she cannot afford. This may become avaluable differentiator between email and physical mail.

Another value added service made possible by this embodiment of theinstant invention is that a postal patron could order delivery of themail piece to be guaranteed at a certain time on a certain day—before orafter the piece was ingested into the postal system. The post couldidentify the exact location of the mail piece and take appropriateaction to either provide special handling to speed up processing of thatpiece, or cull the mail piece out of the normal processing in order todelay delivery. This service may be valuable to a merchant who wants totime the arrival of the piece with a sales event or a telephone call. Itcould be valuable to insure the arrival of a piece on the addressee'sbirthday—not a day before or a day after. It could be a valuable serviceto a sender who wants to insure that the funds to cover a check are inthe checking account before the check arrives at the address. The timingof the delivery may be defined relative to another mail piece, forexample, request to deliver a given mail piece only after, or at thesame time with another mail piece.

Additionally, each of these services could be provided either at anypostal counter, or by interacting with the postal web site. All that isrequired is the unique identifier placed on the mail piece before it wasoriginally posted.

The present invention is a system and method for offering value addedservices for mail after the mail piece has been ingested into the postaldelivery system. Using the aforementioned merged mail sorting system,unique identifiers on each mail piece are associated with uniqueidentifiers on the clamp used in the sorting system, with the trayholding the mail while it is being transported, etc. This enables thepostal employees to find each mail piece at any time. The posts cancharge patrons for value added services based on this new capability inorder to re-direct any mail piece with a unique identifier to adifferent address than the one on the mail piece, stop delivery and/orreturn the mail piece to the sender, or guarantee delivery at aspecified time. These services can be offered at postal counters, or byusing the postal website.

This embodiment of the instant invention enables the post to chargeadditional revenues for value added services which could not have beenoffered previously. If the mail piece is in the aforementioned sortingsystem, it can be retrieved automatically by simply entering a commandin the user interface. If it is in a mail tray in transit, the mail traylocation can be identified by querying the postal data base.

In order to create the value added services, the aforementioned sorterscould easily be modified to include a “go fetch” command for a specificmail piece known to be in the sorter. In some sorting algorithms, forexample, sorting of inbound mail using batch algorithms, the mail piecemay be retained inside the sorter for as long as 21 hours. In this case,the location of the specific mail piece may be known. But it could beembedded in a batch of mail previously sorted to route. In order tofetch a specific mail piece, all the mail stored for that route may bemoved past a stacker module. All but the piece desired to be fetchedwill then move back into their original stored position. The piece to befetched could be unloaded to a mail tray and the mail tray with thesingle piece in it delivered to the operator. In pass-thru algorithms,the sorter will move a tray's worth of mail to the stacker system everytime a tray's worth of mail has been collected. If the piece desired tobe fetched is located in one of these batches, it can be placed in aseparate tray as soon as the batch reaches the traying subsystem.

For retrieving mail pieces loaded into mail trays with uniqueidentifiers, a system tracking software package is assumed to know thelocation of each tray (waiting in area XX for dispatch, loaded on atruck, on its way to destination YY, etc.). For fetching specific mailpieces under these circumstances, the system tracking software wouldidentify the specific current location of the mail tray holding the mailpiece to a postal employee, who would then go directly to the mail trayand manually search for the piece known to be in that tray.

In either of the above cases, the postal employee will take action onthe mail piece depending on the value added service requested.Generally, these actions may include re-writing the new destinationaddress, writing the original senders address in the delivery addressposition, marring the postnet bar code, or simply setting the mail pieceaside for expedited handling or delayed handling.

The ability to provide real-time feedback to the customer regarding thepossibility of acting on the specified mail piece is also valuable. Inexisting systems, there is a high degree of uncertainty about thelocation of a specific mail piece until the next sorting event.

A version of this concept could be employed using a variation ofexisting sorting equipment having the ability to read planet codes. Theplanet code readers on the expected path of the mail piece could all beinstructed to look for a specific mail piece. A diverting path could beadded to the sorters to divert the mail piece to a holding bin as soonas the planet code reader has identified the piece as passing by areader. This method is not as fast as the one described above sincethere may be long delays between the time when the value added servicewas purchased and the time when the mail piece next passed a planet codereader.

V. Auto-Unloading Sorter that Stacks Flats and Letters Separately intoTwo Types of Trays

The USPS has documented a desire to merge all mail streams together intoa single mail stream, sort them all to delivery sequence, and bundle allmail pieces destined for any address together. This initiative, known asthe Delivery Point Packaging (DPP) initiative would save the USPS about$3 B per year in manual sorting labor and by reducing the amount of timeit takes mail carriers to sort about 60% of the mail manually, thenintegrate multiple mail streams during deliveries. The USPS has spentabout $5 M in contracts with four postal automation suppliers trying todevelop a system that will accomplish these objectives.

One problem overlooked by the USPS in the DPP initiative is the problemof stacking the integrated mail into trays, and transporting those traysto the various destinations within the postal sorting and deliverynetwork prior to final delivery. Today, the USPS has two general typesof trays for transporting mails: letter trays in which the letter sizedmail is stood on edge, and flats trays (“tubs”) in which the flats arelaid down in the trays so that their faces are parallel with the bottomof the tray. Other posts, such as Royal Mail, use a single type of trayto accommodate both types of mail, but the same stacking arrangementsapply: letters stacked on edge, flats lay flat. In all applications, themail trays nest together for easy transport when they are empty, andthey can be stacked one on top of another even when filled with mail.

To date, the postal infrastructures for moving filled mail trays areoptimized for “packing density”. If the filled trays stack neatly one ontop of another, then the costs of trucking or flying the mail from onedestination to another is reduced. It is costly to “ship air.”

However, if flats and letters are intermixed, as the DPP initiativeenvisions, then this existing infrastructure for moving trays of mailaround no longer applies. If the intermixed letters and flats arestacked on edge in trays like letter mail is currently stacked, then theflats will extend out the top of the trays. Thus, these types of trayscan no longer be stacked one on top of the other without risking tippingover (which unsorts the mail). Alternatively, if letter mail is laidinto flats trays in the same orientation as flats are currently done, asignificant portion of the tray capacity will be air, not mail. Ineither case, the costs of shipping will rise significantly, because thedensity of the trayed mail being shipped will be reduced. This willerode some of the savings from the DPP initiative.

This embodiment of the instant invention provides a solution involvingthe steps of completing the entire sorting operation with all of thetypes of mail in the mail stream fully integrated in random order, thenseparating the sorted mail into two streams of mail—letters andflats—just before the automated stacking operation. The letters areautomatically stacked in letter trays, and the flats stacked in flatstrays, as is currently the practice. Thus, the benefits of the DPPinitiative are generally preserved, but the costs associated with“shipping air” are avoided. The packing density of the mail duringshipment will not change compared to how the shipping operations areconducted today.

This embodiment of the instant invention provides a system and methodfor preserving the current packing density of mail stacked automaticallyin mail trays by a fully automated sorting system in which all mailstreams have been integrated for the sorting operations. At the end ofthe sorting operation, the mail is transported by the sorter to anautomated unloading area. The method consists of the steps ofintegrating all mail streams for sorting, separating the integrated mailstream into two batches (letter mail and flats mail), then automaticallystacking letter mail on edge into mail trays designed for letter mail,and automatically stacking the flats mail with its face parallel to thebottom of trays designed for stacking flats mail.

This embodiment of the instant invention retains all the benefits ofsorting an integrated mail stream, but retains the current cost ofshipping trays of mail from one destination to another with the currentpacking density of mail in trays. Most of the benefits of the DPPinitiative are preserved.

The aforementioned provisional applications disclose the use of mailclamps to clamp each mail piece. All of the sorting steps operatedirectly on the clamp, so the full range of mail piece types can beloaded into the sorter and sorted without risking mail piece jams ordamage. One of the best aspects of this sorting system is the automatedunload feature. For many competitive sorting systems, the unloading stepis a manual operation. It has been estimated that providing an automatedunload system could save the USPS about $2 Billion each year in laborcosts for centralized sorting operations. The aforementioned provisionalapplications included means to transport the sorted mail to an unloadstation, which unclamped the individual mail pieces and loaded them intotrays.

This embodiment of the instant invention refines the unloading andtraying steps. First, the fully integrated mail stream is separated intotwo mail streams: flats and letters. In practice, the operator canselect the definition of flats and letters. Since the dimensions of eachmail piece are measured during the initial process of loading the mailpieces into clamps, and this information is retained and associated withthe unique identifier on the clamp holding the mail piece, the operatorcan define a specific threshold for mail piece size to determine whichof the two mail streams it will be separated into.

In operation, after the mail has been sorted, it is moved toward theunloading and traying station. Referring now to FIG. 10, a system forseparating letters from flats before unloading is shown. A sorter module500 has a diverter path 510 for separating letters from flats. Mail 515that has been previously merged (flats and letters intermixed), movesinto a separation module located after the sorting modules and beforethe unloading modules. As the stream of intermixed mail arrives at theseparating module, the identifier on each clamp is read by reader 520.If the piece in the clamp is larger than a designated (operatorselectable) threshold size (for example 6″×9″ in the US) it isdetermined to be a flat, and it is diverted into a second path 523 bythe diverter 510. If the mail piece size is below the designatedthreshold, it is considered to be a letter, and it remains in theoriginal path 525. Thus, letter-sized mail only 520, in deliverysequence, proceeds along path 525. Flats mail 540, in delivery sequence,proceeds along path 523.

Downstream of the separator module, two mail streams now exist. Eachmail stream will have similar operations, but they will be designed tohandle the different sizes of the mail stream and the mail trays.Referring now to FIG. 11, in each separated mail stream, the mail in theclamps is then rotated radially while it continues to move down thetransport (driven by a lead screw). FIG. 11 shows an inversion module600 for inverting the letters or flats that have been separated by themodule of FIG. 10. This inverts the mail so that the addresses arere-oriented into right side up so a delivery person can easily read themafter being loaded into the trays. The stream of mail is then advancedto two belts, one on each side of the line of clamps. The two beltssupport the stream of mail while the clamps are being removed from themail. FIG. 11 shows how each mail piece 607 is placed on the belts 620.The lead screw 634 drives the clamps 636 from the sorting stations, witha typical mail piece including indicia 638 and address 650 upside down.Mail is rotated radially while continuing to move in the same axialdirection. Then the mail is stacked with the bottom edge 612 down, sothat the addresses are right side up and easily readable by a mailcarrier.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a mail unloading module 700 is shown forunloading letters. Sorted mail 705 arrives from upstream, and invertedmail 707 is placed on the belts 710 which could be the same as belts 620in FIG. 11. Once the mail is on the support transport belts 710, thejaws of the clamps are opened by a clamp opening mechanism 717, and theclamps 718 are moved downward below the top surface of the belts,leaving the stacked mail pieces 730 on top of the belt(s). The stackedmail pieces 730 are then fed into trays 750 which are moved along aletter tray transport belt 755.

The controller will use information about mail piece thickness (scannedat the entry to the separation module and associated with the clampidentifier) to calculate the number of mail pieces to unload on top ofthe belt. The size of the mail tray will be known (for example, astandard letter tray in the USPS is 24″ long). The controller will addtogether the recorded thickness of all the mail pieces in the sortedstream until a total just a little less total thickness than the mailtray size is accumulated. For example, if the tray can hold 24″ of mail,mail pieces will continue to be rotated and removed from the clampsuntil a total cumulative thickness of 22″ is reached.

The belts will then advance the accumulated 22″ of mail into a trayloading system. For the sake of this application, we assume the mailwill be cascaded off the belts and into a tray, which will betransported in the direction of the mail at a speed compatible with thefill rate.

Referring now to FIG. 13, the clamped, sorted, and separated (into astream of letters) mail is shown being transported to the unload belt.FIG. 8 shows a mail unloading module 800 for unloading a full tray ofmail. The mail is inverted axially as shown in FIG. 11, and then moved ashort distance over the top of two transport belts 710 spaced far enoughapart to allow the clamp to move between them. A clamp opening mechanism717 then opens the clamps and moves the clamps 718 downwardly to freethe mail pieces 730 and stack them on end, leaning against a backstop810. The backstop is on a second transport 820, configured to move withthe two belts 710 that are now supporting the mail. These threetransport belts move at a speed consistent with the fill rate of themail.

When a stack of mail with the accumulative thickness of just under thelength of the tray has been accumulated, the upstream clamped mailtransport and axial rotation mechanism temporarily halts operation. Asshown in FIG. 12, a mail tray has been placed under the two transportbelts. When the equivalent of a tray full of mail has been accumulatedon top of the two transport belts, that row of accumulated mail isadvanced to the end of the belts. This is shown in FIG. 13.

Next, the tray full of mail on the belts is moved to the end of the twotransport belts, where it is cascaded into the mail tray. As shown inFIG. 14, once the mail begins to cascade off the end of the two belts,the belts and the transport advance at the same (fill) rate, allowingall of the accumulated mail to be stacked into the tray. FIG. 14 showsthe mail unloading module of FIG. 13 with the mail being cascaded intothe mail tray. In FIG. 14, the backstop 810 is shown positioned just offthe end of the mail transport belts 710. In this position, it functionsas a guide, and enables the mail to cascade into the tray 750 whileinsuring that the mail 730 remains in its tipped upright orientation asit cascades into the tray.

When all the mail in the accumulated batch is advanced off the end ofthe (two) belts and into the tray, the tray filled with mail istransported to the left, and a new tray is put in place. (This could bea manual or an automated operation. Details not shown.) The backstoptransport then moves the backstop back to its home position. Theupstream operations of advancing clamped mail, rotating it, unclampingit, and placing it on the two belts is then resumed to accumulate thenext tray full of mail on top of the two belts.

Unloading Flats Mail into Trays:

Letter mail is typically stacked in trays standing on end, as shown inFIGS. 10-14. Flats mail, on the other hand, is typically stacked intrays lying with the faces of the mail parallel with the bottom of thetray. In some posts, such as the USPS, the flats trays are a differentshape and size compared to the letters trays. In other posts, such asRoyal Mail, the same tray is used for letters and flats. Regardless ofwhether the letter trays and flats trays are the same or differentsizes, letters are generally stacked with the face of the mail parallelwith the side of the tray, and flats are stacked with the faces of themail parallel with the bottom of the tray.

So the flats stacking operation will be a little different than shownabove for letters. The upstream operations remain the same as forletters: transporting clamped flats to the unload area, rotating theclamped flats axially to enable the address to be read right-side-up,and moving the bottom edge of the clamped flats over two belts separatedfar enough apart to enable the clamps to move between the belts, andfinally, unclamping the flats to allow their bottom edges to rest on thetwo belts while the clamps are moved downwardly between the two belts.As with letters, the controller calculates the cumulative thickness ofthe flats to determine how many pieces must be stacked to fill a flatstray. The unclamped flats accumulate, standing on edge, on the twoaccumulator belts.

When a tray's worth of flats has been accumulated, the upstreamoperations stop. In order to stack the flats oriented so that theirfaces are parallel with the bottom of the tray, the tray 11 is orientedat a steeper angle than the letter trays. These last steps are shown inFIGS. 15 and 16.

FIG. 15 shows a mail unloading module 10 for unloading a full tray offlats 18. Axial rotation 13 and unclamping 14 operations are halted whena tray's worth of flats has been accumulated and stacked on the twotransport belts 12. The backstop 15 is moved by belt 16, and the tray 11(when full) is moved by belt 17.

Next, the tray full of mail on the belts is moved to the end of the twotransport belts, where it is cascaded into the mail tray. FIG. 16 showsthe mail unloading module 10 of FIG. 15, with the flats being cascadedinto the flats tray. As shown in FIG. 16, once the mail begins tocascade off the end of the two belts 12, the belts 12 and 16 advance atthe fill rate, allowing all of the accumulated mail to be stacked intothe tray.

The principal is the same between letter mail stacking and flatsstacking, but the details vary. The flats trays are oriented at adifferent angle to enable the flats to lay down in the tray. But thetray is transported to the left at a speed consistent with the fillrate.

Key aspects of this embodiment of the present invention include thefollowing:

-   -   1. The method of loading an integrated stream mail into clamps,        measuring the dimensions of each mail piece, associating those        dimensions with a unique identifier on the clamp holding the        mail piece, sorting the integrated mail stream into multiple        (usually two) mail streams based on a specified size threshold        related to mail piece size, then automatically unloading mail        pieces from the clamps, accumulating sufficient mail to fill a        tray, and stacking the mail into a tray. Two stacking operations        are included, one which stacks mail in trays standing on edge,        and the other stacks the mail laying flat.    -   2. A method of determining how many mail pieces will be stacked        in each tray based on previously measured thickness information        for each mail piece. The mail pieces are unloaded from the        clamps and accumulated on an interim accumulation station. The        controller calculates the cumulative thickness of the stack of        mailpieces in the interim accumulation station. When a        predetermined cumulative thickness is achieved, the accumulated        stack is moved toward a mail tray and stacked therein.    -   3. A clamp unloading and mail accumulation station consisting of        a pair of belts separated by a distance sufficiently wide for        clamps to move between the mail. A clamp opening mechanism        releases the mail piece from the jaws of the clamp, and the        clamp is moved below the surface of the belt, leaving the mail        piece behind resting on edge on the surface of the two belts.        The belts move an accumulated stack of mail at a speed        consistent with the fill rate. When a tray's worth of mail has        been accumulated, the two belts move to advance the mail to the        end of the belt where it cascades into a tray located below the        belt.

Mail is unloaded from letter sorters by hand today. For some flatssorters, the sorting bins are flats trays, and the mail is depositeddirectly into the trays. The trays can be automatically transported to adispatching area. This works well only when the mail is being sorted tozip. It generally cannot be used to sort flats mail to delivery sequencesince the volume of mail per destination is generally much less than atray full.

It is to be understood that all of the present figures, and theaccompanying narrative discussions of preferred embodiments, do notpurport to be completely rigorous treatments of the methods and systemsunder consideration. A person skilled in the art will understand thatthe steps of the present application represent general cause-and-effectrelationships that do not exclude intermediate interactions of varioustypes, and will further understand that the various structures andmechanisms described in this application can be implemented by a varietyof different combinations of hardware and software, and in variousconfigurations which need not be further elaborated herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fulfillment system, for moving inventory itemsto at least one unloading station in response to a fulfillment order,the system comprising: an input device for entering identificationinformation about a plurality of the inventory items; a plurality ofholders, each holder dimensioned for receipt and holding of one of theinventory items, wherein each holder is a clamp; at least one storagearea configured to store at least one of the plurality of holders; atleast one loading station configured for placing each of the inventoryitems into one of said holders; a controller configured for creating andstoring a first association between each of the entered identificationinformation and each of the holders in which each of the inventory itemsis placed; a selector and transporter, responsive to said fulfillmentorder and the first association, configured to select at least one ofthe holders holding the inventory items which correspond to thefulfillment order, and configured to transport the at least one of theholders from the at least one storage area to the at least one unloadingstation; and a machine readable identifying means; wherein theidentifying means includes holder information which, in combination withthe entered identification information on the inventory item, enablesselection of the inventory item, and wherein the first associationuniquely associates each of the entered identification information witha unique identifier of each of the clamps.
 2. The fulfillment system ofclaim 1, wherein holders holding non-selected inventory items remain inthe at least one storage area.
 3. The fulfillment system of claim 1,wherein the clamp comprises: jaws for releasably holding the inventoryitem.
 4. The fulfillment system of claim 1, further comprising recyclingequipment, for recycling at least one of the holders from the unloadingstation to the loading station.
 5. The fulfillment system of claim 1,configured for simultaneously loading, sorting, and unloading separatebatches of the inventory items.
 6. The fulfillment system of claim 1,wherein a replenishment order for additional inventory items of aparticular type is created in response to the fulfillment system storingless than a predetermined amount of that particular type.
 7. Thefulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the inventory items aresingulated, then captured by a clamp.
 8. The fulfillment system of claim1, wherein the system moves multiple identical ones of the inventoryitems to the at least one storage area.
 9. The fulfillment system ofclaim 1, wherein the system moves a plurality of a first type of theinventory items to a first one of the at least one storage area, aplurality of a second type of the inventory items to a second one of theat least one storage area, and a plurality of a third type of theinventory items to a third one of the at least one storage area.
 10. Thefulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured tocreate and store a second association, between the enteredidentification information of each of the inventory items and one ormore of the storage areas.
 11. The fulfillment system of claim 10,wherein the inventory items are retrievable from one or more of thestorage areas based upon the second associations.
 12. The fulfillmentsystem of claim 1, further comprising means for opening the holders torelease the inventory items at the at least one unloading station. 13.The fulfillment system of claim 12, wherein the means for opening theholders includes a jaw opener that opens each of the holders.
 14. Thefulfillment system of claim 12, further including at least one pathwayfrom the storage areas of the unloading station.
 15. The fulfillmentsystem of claim 1, further comprising means for preparing a package,label, or invoice for the fulfillment order.
 16. The fulfillment systemof claim 15, wherein the package, label, or invoice is prepared beforethe inventory items arrive at the at least one unloading station. 17.The fulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the inventory items arehandled once to singulate them and load it into a clamp.
 18. Thefulfillment system of claim 17, wherein the inventory items are mailitems that are provided into a carrier delivery sequence by the selectorand transporter.
 19. The fulfillment system of claim 17, wherein theselector and transporter process mail from three or more differentroutes simultaneously: one in a feeding operation, a second route in asorting operation, and a third route in an unload and traying operation.20. The fulfillment system of claim 1, wherein: the controller isconfigured to create and store a second association between theidentification information and the at least one storage area; thecontroller uses the first and second associations to determine whether arequested fulfillment item is located in a particular storage area ofthe at least one storage area; and the controller instructs the selectorand transporter to select the holder from the storage area and transportthe holder to an unloading station.
 21. The fulfillment system of claim20, wherein: the inventory items are mail pieces; after the mail pieceshave left a sorter, the controller isolates the mail pieces to anywherewithin the postal processes using a unique identifier and one of:re-directs a particular mail piece to a new destination; stops thedelivery of the particular mail piece; and guarantees the delivery ofthe particular mail piece at a certain time on a certain day, before orafter the mail piece is inducted into the postal processes.
 22. Thefulfillment system of claim 21, wherein the mail pieces are held in amail tray which are identified by the controller.
 23. A method formoving inventory items to at least one unloading station in response toa fulfillment order, the method comprising: entering identificationinformation associated with a plurality of the inventory items;receiving and holding each of the inventory items in one of a pluralityof holders; creating and storing a first association between the enteredidentification information of each of the inventory items and each ofsaid holders in which each of said inventory items is placed; storing atleast one of the plurality of holders in at least one storage area;selecting and transporting the inventory items held by said holders, inorder to move said holders from the at least one storage area to theunloading station, based at least partly upon the first association andthe fulfillment order; and opening the holders to release the inventoryitems at the at least one unloading station, wherein opening the holdersis accomplished using a jaw opener.
 24. The method of claim 23, whereinholders holding non-selected inventory items remain in the at least onestorage area.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the first associationuniquely associates each of the entered identification information witheach of the holders.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein each of theholders includes a unique identifier which, in combination with theentered identification information on the inventory item, enablesselection and movement of the inventory item.
 27. The method of claim23, further comprising recycling at least one of the holders from theunloading station to the loading station.
 28. The method of claim 23,further comprising simultaneously loading, sorting, and unloadingseparate batches of the inventory items.
 29. The method of claim 23,further comprising creating and storing a second association, betweenthe entered identification information of each of the items and one ormore of the storage areas.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the oneor more inventory items are retrieved from one or more of the storageareas, based at least partly upon the second association.
 31. The methodof claim 23, further comprising preparing a package, label, or invoicefor the fulfillment order.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein thepackage, label, or invoice is prepared before the inventory itemsarrives at the at least one unloading station.
 33. The method of claim23, further comprising replenishing the system with additional inventoryitems, at at least one loading station.
 34. The method of claim 33,wherein a replenishment order for additional inventory items of aparticular type is created in response to the fulfillment system storingless than a predetermined amount of that particular type.
 35. A softwareproduct for directing movement of inventory items to at least oneunloading station in response to a fulfillment order, the softwareproduct comprising a computer readable medium having codes therein forexecution by a processor, so that when executed the codes provide forsteps comprising: entering identification information associated with aplurality of the inventory items; entering identification informationassociated with each of a plurality of holders; receiving and storingeach of one of the inventory items in one of the plurality of holders;creating and storing a first association between the enteredidentification information of each of the inventory items and each ofsaid holders in which each of said inventory items is placed; storing atleast one of the plurality of holders, in at least one storage area; andselecting and transporting the inventory items held by said holders, inorder to move said holders from the at least one storage area to theunloading station, based upon the first association and the fulfillmentorder, wherein the selecting and transporting is enabled by identifyingboth holder information in combination with the entered identificationinformation on the inventory item and the first association uniquelyassociates each of the entered identification information with a uniqueidentifier of each of the holder.
 36. The software product of claim 35,further comprising code for creating and storing a second association,between the entered identification information of each of the items andone or more of the storage areas.
 37. The software product of claim 35,wherein the plurality of the inventory items are mail items, and theselecting and transporting of the mail items are provided into a carrierdelivery sequence after the mail items are loaded into a sorter only asingle time.
 38. The software product of claim 37, wherein the pluralityof the inventory items are singulated, then captured by a clamp.
 39. Thesoftware product of claim 37, further comprising opening the holders torelease the inventory items at at least one unloading station, whereinopening the holders is accomplished using a jaw opener.